Drawer latch



' A. E. FOHN Feb. 16, 1932.

DRAWER LATCH Filed Oct. 51, 1950 Patented Feb. 16, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. f

nnonrn E. norm, or Minoan, rumors, ASSIGNOB T AURORA METAL canmn'rco,

OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS DRAWER Lauren Application filed October 31, 1930. Serial Ho. 492,485.

This invention relates to a new and improved latch for cabinet drawersor the like.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a latch of simplerand more economical, as well as more practical construction, which, furthermore, is positive in its action to lock the drawer automatically the instant it reaches fully closed 7 osition, and is, nevertheless, easily unlocked y light thumb pressure when the drawer is to be opened. A latch of this kind keeps the drawer from opening by rebound when the drawer is closed quickly, and also prevents the drawer from drifting open, thus protecting the contents from getting dirty.

I am aware that latches have been provided operable by thumbpressure, but those with which I am familiar have been too complicated and expensive, and in some instances, necessitated special construction of the front or other part of the drawer or cabinet. They were, furthermore, objectionable because of the number of moving parts required, and the consequent likelihood of something getting out of order. The latch of my invention, on the other hand, involves practically the minimum number of parts, all of extremely simple, sturdy, and economical construction, and the application of the latch does not necessitate con'iplicating the construction of the drawer or cabinet. The latch, furthermore, operates very easily and there are no parts apt to get out of order. 1 p

The invention is illustrated in the accom panying drawing, in which-- Figure 1 is a fragmentary front view of a cabinet,the drawers of which are equipped with latches made in accordance with my in vention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical cross-see tion taken on the line 22 of Figure 1, and

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 indicating the manner of operation of the latch.

In Figure 1, the numeral is applied to the cabinet, which maybe a filing cabinet or the like,and1in which a drawer 11 is mounted on suspension slides 12, preferably of the roller type. The usual cross bars 13are pro vided at the front of the cabinet reaching from side to side between the drawers and, of; course, each ofthe drawers has a handle or drawer pull 14 attached to the front 15 for opening and closing the same. In accordance with one phaseof my invention, a plate 16is provided on the inside of the drawer front to serve as a reinforcement at the place where the handle 14; is fastened. The handle is provided withstuds 17 projecting through registering holes in the drawer front and plate to receive nuts 18 threaded thereon inside the drawer and tightened against the back of the plate. Any other means for fastening :thehandle might, however, be provided. The plate16, as will now be described, in addition to serving as a reinforcement, constitutes the support for part of the latch of my invention,

The plate 16 has an upward extension 19 at the upper end of which a laterally extending lug 20 is provided. A short leaf spring 21 is suitably secured to the back of the lug 20 as by riveting or spot-welding and reaches downwardly therefrom, and is similarly secured to the upper end of an elongated trip lever 22. The latter is made of aflat strip of sheet metal, which normally lies flatly against the back of the drawer front, being urged in that direction under the action of the spring 21. A push button 23 is suitably mounted on the front of the lever 22 inter mediate the ends thereof and projects through a hole 24 made in the drawer front. It will be observed in Figure 1 that the button 23 is disposed immediately alongside and to the left of the handle 14, so that as one grasps the handle with the. right hand, the

button 23 canbe pressed withthe thumb to unlock the drawer in the manner hereinafter described. The lower end of the lever 22 is bent at an angle of approximately 4.5 to pro- 7 his clothing.

vide a lip 25. The latch proper is formed by a latch lever 26 that is pivoted at its rear end by means of a small hinge 27 to the underside of the drawer bottom 28. The front end of the latch is bent upwardly approximately at right angles to provide a portion 29 reaching through a hole 30 in the drawer bottom, its upper end being bent approximately at to provide a lip 31 engaging the back of the lip 25. When the latch 26 is in its normal position, as shown in Fig. 2, the shoulder 32 at the bend therein comes approximately to the level of the top of the cross bar 13 below the drawer 11, and when the drawer is fully closed, the shoulder engages the back of a keeper S3 struck up' from the top wall of the cross bar 13. The keeper 33 is struck up in such a way that the back thereof is substantially vertical and affords a good purchase for the latch 26, but the front thereof is inclined so that the latch is arranged to ride over-the same easily in. the closing of the drawer.

In operation, when the drawer is being closed, the latch 26 is raised slightly as it rides over the keeper 33, and at the instant the drawer is fully closed, the latch drops down behind the keeper, the shoulder 32 being then in abutment with the keeper, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2. It should be evident that while the latch 26 is herein shown as arranged to drop down simply by gravity, spring means may be provided, if desired, tending normally to urge the latch toward locked position. That would obviate the necessity for the spring at 21;'an ordinary hinge connection could be provided at that point. In the event the drawer is closed quickly and would otherw-ise be apt to open on rebound, the latch 26 prevents the opening thereof. On the other hand, if the cabinet happens to be placed so that the drawer has a tendency to drift open, the latch keeps the drawer closed. The contents of the drawer will, therefore, be kept clean. The drawer can be unlocked by very light pressure of the thumb on the button 23 in grasping the handle 14, the lever 22 being thereby swung to the positionshown in Fig. 3-, and correspondingly raising the latch 26 clear of the keeper 33, as shown. The depression of the button is amplified, owing to the fact that the button is disposed intermediate the ends of the lever 22, so that very little movement of the button is required toraise the latch far enough to easily clear the keeper 33. It is obvious that the working parts of the latch do not take up any appreciable space in the drawer, and are not at all'apt to get caught on anything therein. Furthermore, there are no parts projecting on the outside of the drawer that could possibly give rise to the objection that one is apt to catch The application of the latch does not necessitate complicating the construction of the drawer, and very few additional operations are required for the installation of the latch. The trip lever 22 is fastened to the plate 16 by means of the spring 21, .and this assembly is installed in one operation when the handle 14 is being fastened to the drawer. The only part, therefore, that has to be handled separately and fastened to the drawer is the latch 26. The latch is fully enclosed and so disposed that the loading of the drawer has no effect upon the operation thereof.

I claim:

1. A latch for a drawer comprising a trip lever substantially vertically disposed inside the drawer behind the drawer front with the lower end thereof disposed adjacent the drawer bottom, means for supporting the trip lever at its upper end for inward swinging movement, the said lever having a projection extending forwardly through the drawer front arranged to be pressed inwardly to communicate inward movement to the lever, a latch lever disposed below the drawer bottom-at the front end of the drawer, means for supporting said lever at its rear end for swinging movement in a vertical plane, ,a keeper below the drawer for cooperation with the latch lever whereby to lock the drawer, and means providing an operating connection between the lower end of the trip lever and the front end of the latch'lever for raising the latter in the inward swinging movement of the former.

2. A latch as set forth in claim 1 wherein the last mentioned means comprises a rearward projection on the lower end of thetrip lever and a forward projection on the front end of the latch lever, and wherein one of the last mentioned projections extends diagonally with respect to a vertical and has the other projection arranged to ride thereon. to transmit movement from the trip lever to the latch lever.

3. A latch as set forth in claim 1 wherein the last mentioned means comprises a rearward projection on the lower end of the trip lever and a forward projection on the front end of the latch lever, and wherein the rearward projection on the trip lever '18 at an angle of aproximately 45 to a vertical, and the forward projection on the latch lever is substantially parallel therewith and rests on top thereof so that movement-of the trip lever is transmitted to the latch lever.

4. A latch for a drawer comprising atrip lever substantially vertically disposed inside the drawer behind the drawer front with the lower end thereof'disposed adjacent the drawer bottom, means for supporting the trip lever at its upper end for inward swinging movement, the said lever having a projection extending forwardly through the drawer front arranged to be pressed inwardly to communicate inward movement to the lever, a latch lever disposed below the drawer bottom front and havmg a pro upper end mar -704 at the front end of the drawer, means for supporting said lever at its rear end for swinging movement in a vertical plane, and a keeper below the drawer for cooperation with the latch lever whereby to lock the drawer, the front end of the latch lever being extended upwardly through the drawer bottom to a point behind the lower end of the trip lever, and the ends of said levers being conformed for inter-engagement so that the latch lever is raised as result of inward movement of the trip lever.

5. A latch as set forth in claim wherein the means for supporting the tri lever at its upper end is constructed to hole the lever normally under spring tension against the back of the drawer front in retracted relation to the latch lever to lock the drawer, the projection on the trip lever being pressed inwardly against the spring tension to raise the latch lever.

6. A latch as set forth in claim 5 wherein the means for supporting the trip lever com prises a flat leaf spring normally urging the lever forwardly toward the drawer front in retracted relation to the latch lever.

7. In a drawer lock mechanism, the combination of a trip lever substantially vertically disposed inside the drawer front with the lower end thereof disposed adjacent the drawer bottom, a plate on the inside of the drawer front serving as a support for the upper end of the trip lever, the lever being swingable on said plate relative to the drawer 'ection extending forw ardly through the drawer front arranged to be pressed inwardly to communicate swinging movement to the lever, a latch lever disposed below the drawer bottom at the front end of the drawer, means for supporting said lever at its rear end for swinging movement in a vertical plane, a keeper below the drawer for cooperation with the latch lever whereby to lock the drawer, and means providing an operating connection between the lower end of the trip lever and the front end of the latch lever for raising the latter in the inward swinging movement of the former.

8. In a drawer lock mechanism, the combination of a trip lever substantially vertically disposed inside the drawer front with the lower end thereof disposed adjacent the drawer bottom, a plate on the inside of the drawer front serving as a support for the of the trip lever, the lever being swingable on said plate relative to the drawer front and having a projection extending forwardly through the drawer front arranged to be pressed inwardly to communicate swinging movement to the lever, said plate being so disposed on the inside of the drawer front with respect to a handle provided on the out side of the drawer front to permit depression of the projection while grasping the handle, a latch lever disposed below the drawer bottom at the front end of the drawer, means for supporting said lever at its rear end for swinging movement in a vertical plane, a keeper below the drawer for cooperation with the latch lever whereby to lock the drawer, and means providing an operating connection between the lower end of the trip lever and the front end of the latch lever for raising the latter in the inward swinging movement of the former, said drawer having a handle on the front thereof.

In witness of the foregolng I affix my signature.

ADOLPH E. FOHN. 

